It's Been Too Long
by Maci-bby
Summary: It's been two long years since Sasuke left and Naruto just hasn't been the same. Everyone is worried about him, but no one can bring the old Naruto back. Can Sasuke get to Naruto and save him in time? Or has it he been gone too long? Yaoi, SasukeXNaruto.


**I know, I know. This is **_**not**_** a new chapter of There's More Than Meets The Eye. But it **_**is**_** something I whipped together real quick because I feel so guilty to leave you guys hanging! Hehe, it's a one-shot, and I think it's okay. Not great, pretty short, but it's something to fill the gap between TMTME's next update! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Idk how many times I'll have to say that haha. **

**Warning: There's a tad bit of naughty language, of course it's some boy lovin' boy, drinking included, some drepression.. blah blah blah, don't read what ya can't take :)**

**Uhh, here we go :P**

-----------------------------------------------------

He'd been gone for two years. It had been _two years _since Naruto had seen Sasuke's face, heard Sasuke's voice, felt Sasuke's touch..

Naruto's health and stability had been on a constant downfall. From about the moment Sasuke left Konoha, Naruto had fallen into a deep depression which no one and nothing could pull him from. Except, of course, the Uchiha himself, who had been completely absent from Naruto's life.

Naruto had given up ramen within a week and picked up a much more unhealthy addiction. He stayed mostly in his apartment, reeking of alcohol with dark circles around his eyes. He did little more than drink, excercise, and bathe. He would wake, do a morning routine to stay in shape, and shower. Then he would sit for hours in his living room, staring out the window or at the floor with a bottle of vodka in his hand. Sakura, Tsunade, and Iruka stopped by every day, Iruka making sure the apartment stayed clean of the dust that gathered in the mostly unused rooms and Sakura and Tsunade trying to pull him out of his slump. Their actions had little to no affect. They would come, open his blinds and talk cheerfully, sit with him a while and rant on and on with gossip and nonsense, and then leave. Naruto would only rise to close the blinds again.

Every couple days Kakashi would come by. These were the visits that Naruto least minded. When Kakashi came, he didn't force conversation or tell Naruto how he needed to change his lifestyle. He did not try to tell Naruto how pointless it was to sit in his apartment and waste away for someone who had left him merely for power. Kakashi understood wholeheartedly that really, all Naruto needed was someone to be there. Kakashi knew that he was not the someone Naruto needed, but he _was _someone. Few words would be spoken. At most, Kakashi would knock on the door and Naruto would rise, open the door, and step aside for him to enter. Naruto would set his bottle down and sit next to Kakashi. Occasionally, they would talk, but mostly, the only words spoken were goodbyes, becuase Kakashi understood that Naruto was empty without Sasuke and that he could not be complete without Sasuke at all. And Kakashi gave him the space that he needed.

Once a week, Kiba would come by, along with Ino, Shikamaru, and Lee. Naruto was about a thousandth of a fraction more responsive when they came. Mostly because Ino was forceful and Kiba reminded him of old times, he would put a tad into the conversation, but these were quicker visits because the awkward silences were hard to deal with.

Every couple of weeks, Hinata and Neji would come. Every few weeks, Gaara would stop in for a few minutes, sometimes bringing him alcohol, sometimes stopping in to tell him how he didn't look too good and that it would get better. Naruto would scoff and Gaara would leave.

Despite all of these attempts to bring Naruto back to the real world, he remained in his own world of sadness and emptiness.

For two years they'd tried, and failed, to help Naruto. They wondered what was running through Naruto's mind and how much longer he could possibly stay in his depressive state. All the while, he was thinking of the past and the future and how he couldn't stand to think of either.

He was standing at his bedroom window. His hair was wet and he wore only boxers, having just gotten out of the shower. Water dripped down over his rippling chest and stomach, making him shiver. His once bright, sky blue eyes were now lifeless. These dull eyes were unfocused and his thoughts were dangerous.

He turned from the window and headed towards the kitchen, grabbing a new bottle of vodka from the refridgerator.

It was a Sunday, and it had rained since morning. The day was gloomy and dark and matched Naruto's attitude. On Sundays, his visitors usually let him be, which he was glad for.

He walked to the living room and plopped heavily down on the couch. He pressed the bottle to his lips, recieving the only relief he had in his life from his internal pain quite gratefully. After taking a swig and gulping, he moved the bottle to rest between his legs. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. As usual, his thoughts traveled to Sasuke.

_Damn it, what you do to me, Sasuke.. _

He squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced.

_You leave and I'm a total fucking mess. I don't know what hurts more, the fact that you didn't give a __**shit**__ about me or that you'll never know how much I give a shit about you.._

In his dark and gloomy apartment, with no sound but his breathing and no feeling but heartbreak, Naruto began to sob.

-------------------------------------------

Sakura had been on a mission for the past day and a half. It was killing her, as well as Iruka and Tsunade and Kakashi and everyone else close to Naruto, to see him in his current state. Tsunade had given her permission to try and find the Uchiha and tell him just what he was doing to Naruto. The goal was to coax him back to Konoha to try and save Naruto before he was too far gone.

It had taken miles of searching at full speed, but Sakura and her team of ANBU finally found Sasuke's location, in a clearing between some mountains. He was doing some meditating.

He looked up in surprise as he felt Sakura's chakra coming towards him at full speed.

In a matter of seconds, she was there before him, breathing hard and sweating. He stood with a brow raised in question.

"_Sas_-Sasuke. You -_pant_- have to -_pant_- come back to -_pant_- Konoha." Sakura stated through broken words.

"What are you talking about, Sakura? You know I can't do that." Sasuke stated in the same uppity, monotone that he usually had with everyone but Naruto.

"_Please_." Sakura pleaded, tears gathering in her eyes.

"What.. what's going on, Sakura?" Sasuke's hard voice asked.

"It's Naruto.." Sasuke began, having caught her breath.

The tensing of Sasuke's muscles was visible in his shoulders, arms and face.

"What's wrong with him?" His voice was strained, as he tried to hold back his deep worry and concern.

"He's not the same, Sasuke. The day you left, Naruto changed. He's so freaking _depressed_. He just sits there in his apartment in the dark day in and day out, drinking his damn vodka and-" Sakura was cut off.

"He's what!? Drinking? Naruto is?" Sasuke asked, bewildered. Drinking and 'depressed' were not terms you used in the same sentence with Naruto. Sakura nodded swiftly and continued.

"It's horrible, Sasuke. He barely talks. I visit him most everyday and he says all of three, four words the whole time. Sometimes it's only to say 'Get the hell out.'" A tear rolled down Sakura's face as she said this.

"But there's.. There's no way Naruto's like that. Naruto walks around in bright orange clothes, yelling 'Believe it!' and eating ramen constantly! Naruto doesn't drink or get depressed or sit in the dark all day and night." Sasuke retorted, not believing Naruto's transformation.

"Sasuke, I know it's not like him. But he hasn't been _him_ in two years. And it hurts everyone around him to see it. He's so pale, with these dark circles around his eyes, and he's so much thinner.. It's horrible. He _needs _you, Sasuke. You're the only one that can pull him out of this. And we need to hurry! Because he's getting worse and worse as the days pass. I don't know how much longer he'll be able to take all the pain. And I _know _you love him, Sasuke, and that you had to leave to kill your brother and that it hurt you a lot to leave him, but you have to find some way to get your power from Konoha. You know I wouldn't come if it weren't the very last resort, because I know us dragging you back has never been what you wanted. But we all need you now. Because he might.. well, I don't know what he'll do." Sakura was almost in hysterics by the end of this speech, but her message had been successfully conveyed and her message and the full meaning of her last words fully sank in to Sasuke's thick, stubborn skull. He hesitated only a moment before answering.

"Then.. then let's go." Sasuke nodded his head in confirmation and he, Sakura, and the team of ANBU headed back to Konoha as fast as they possibly could.

-------------------------------------------------

Naruto lifted the bottle again for yet another drink. Halfway to his lips, he stopped to stare at the bottle.

In the darkness, Naruto blinked and lowered the bottle. He sat up and hung his head.

"I.. I can't do this anymore.. I can't take it.." His raspy voice spoke aloud, two more tears slipping from his eyes.

It was turmoil in his mind, his thoughts flashing by swiftly, too swiftly for Naruto to process. He was confused and his head was spinning and he was angry and depressed and there was just too much to take in.

He stood and threw the vodka bottle against the wall to his right. The bottle shattered and glass went everywhere. Naruto stood breathing heavily, tears running down his face. After a long moment, he walked slowly over to the shards. He bent and picked up a particularly large and sharp piece. Twirling it in his hand and making it catch the small amount of light coming through the still-open blinds, he stared at the glass contemplatively.

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if coming to a decision. His face fell blank as e lowered the glass slowly toward his wrist.

_Damn it, if I can't live with him, I won't live at all.. _

----------------------------------------------------

Sasuke had a heavy feeling in his stomach that told him that something was not right. He, Sakura and the rest of the ANBU team crossed Konoha's threshold in record time. Leaving Sakura to explain to Tsunade and the rest what was going on and the success of her mission, he continued on to Naruto's apartment. He couldn't get across the town fast enough.

It was a huge relief to feel Naruto's strong chakra emanating from his apartment. Sasuke was just thinking that Sakura was completely wrong and had blown the situation out of hand when he heard the shattering of glass against a hard surface. Sasuke jumped to the roof of the buildings across from Naruto's apartment where he could see through Naruto's window clearly. He was shocked to see Naruto staring down at a piece of sharp, broken glass. As the glass began to move slowly towards Naruto's wrist, Sasuke almost catapulted across the street to open Naruto's window and grip his arm tightly before the glass could touch the soft, now-pale skin of his beloved's arm.

"Don't." Sasuke whispered. Naruto looked at Sasuke, shocked, and more tears gathered in his eyes.

"S-Sasuke.. How.. What are you.. Shit." Naruto's bewildered tone suddenly came to a gruff hault.

"What?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"You can't be real. I must be dreaming. Or did I already kill myself? How did I end up in Heaven with you then? Nothing's making sense.." Naruto clearly didn't understand the situation.

"Naruto, no. You don't understand. You're not.. not dead. Not in Heaven. I'm _here_, in Konoha, with you. Sakura.. she found me, told me what's been going on." Sasuke tried to make him understand what was happening.

He blinked in turn and let those words sink in. He nodded and looked down at the shard still in his hand. He opened his hand and let it fall.

"That would make sense.. More so than being dead, I guess." Naruto muttered, mostly to himself.

And then he scoffed.

"So you're back because somebody guilted you into coming back? That's just great. Ha, it would've been better to have just let me _kill myself_, Uchiha." Naruto barked at Sasuke. Sasuke cringed.

"I wasn't _guilted _into coming back, dobe. I was worried about your dumb ass, for your information. I wasn't about to just stay away knowing you were here in Konoha, sitting in the damn dark and drinking your life away." Sasuke glared at Naruto. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Oh what the fuck ever, bastard. You don't _really _care about me. Why would you? What difference would it freaking make to you if I killed myself or drank myself to death or otherwise!? I mean, you sure as hell didn't care what would happen to me when you left, that's perfectly clear. And I mean fucking _crystal_! So what difference would it really make now, huh!? Not a damn difference, that's what." Naruto's voice was bitter, but you could just hear the hurt and see it in his eyes.

Sasuke was silent for a moment, looking into those blue eyes that he'd fallen in love with so many years ago, and he saw the dark circles and his much lighter skin tone and how the little chub in his cheeks was gone, leaving his cheek bones slightly gaunt. He saw how his clothes hung a little loose on his slighter frame, and how much more guarded the boy in front of him was compared to the Naruto that usually let every single emotion show blatantly. And he shook his head, to which Naruto raised his eyebrow.

"You're wrong." Sasuke stated.

"About what?"

"About me not caring. And what difference it would make, because it would make a huge difference to me."

"Ha, whatever."

"No, Naruto, not whatever. Do you not realize that leaving you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do? I was _nothing _without you. Do you not realize that I _have no life_ without you in it? If you were gone, I would _not _be able to move on. I would've be able to get out of fucking bed in the mornings! Naruto, you are every damn breath that I take. All I did was train, and miss you! And that goofy fucking grin of yours, and your silly ambitions that I never once doubted you'd achieve! I left for selfish reasons, not because I didn't care. I left and it almost killed me. In my spare time, I had to meditate to keep from thinking about you, because if I thought about you too much, I'd have run back here and not have finished what I set out to do. You can't possibly tell me that you thought I didn't care?"

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a second.

"Sasuke, of course I thought you didn't care. Still do now. You left without even saying goodbye! Just left, without a word, and not a word since. And even before that, all you did was call me _dobe _and tell me that I would never amount to anything! What am I supposed to think, other than the fact that you _hate _me while I _love _you!?" After the words left his mouth, Naruto's lips clamped shut.

_Damn, that part wasn't supposed to come out.._

Sasuke looked at Naruto with a soft expression for a moment before letting his face break out into a grin.

"Naruto, did you ever take into consideration that maybe I was mean to you because I'd been taught to push the people I cared about away? Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, I worried about you and wanted to look after you and only made fun of you and discouraged you to in turn push you harder? Because I couldn't flat out cheer you on, I just _couldn't_. Did it ever cross your mind, that maybe, possibly, I loved you, and still love you, more than fucking life itself?!" And without giving him a second to think, Sasuke release Naruto's arm and wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him closer and pressing their lips together.

After a second's hesitation, Naruto pushed back into the gentle but passionate kiss. Naruto grabbed a fistful of Sasuke's shirt and deepend the liplock even futher. For a few seconds, that drug out to the pair for what seemed like hours, they were totally connected. Minds and bodies intertwined, they were finally together in a way that they'd both always longed for. When they broke apart, both were breathless. Both pairs of eyes were lidded and both bodies were warmer and full of butterflies.

Looking into Sasuke's eyes, Naruto allowed a small smile to cross his lips.

"No.. it never crossed my mind." Naruto replied to the almost forgotten question. Sasuke smiled and kissed Naruto's temple.

"As long as you know it now. And I do. I truly, _truly _do, Naruto. I love you. So much." Sasuke whispered, kissing the top of Naruto's head and letting the blonde's locks smother his face. He could practically feel Naruto's smile.

"I love you too, Sasuke. I always have." Naruto replied in his own low tone. At these words, Sasuke's arms wrapped around Naruto's frame and squeezed lightly.

"And Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"I will _never _leave you, ever again." Sasuke said lightly.

Naruto pulled back and looked into Sasuke's dark eyes. He smiled the biggest smile he had in the last two years and kissed Sasuke again, quickly.

"I'll never drink another drop, as long as you're by my side. Thank you so much, Sasuke."

"For what?" Sasuke asked.

"For actually loving me." Naruto replied, smiling again. Sasuke shook his head and smiled his own small smile.

"Naruto.. how could I _not_?" To which Naruto laughed and Sasuke kissed him again and everything was _good_. Not perfect, but better than it had been in quite a while, and Naruto was in need of some good in his life.

"You know, we've got a lot to talk about." Naruto said.

"You're right, we do."

"It'll take a while to talk about it all, actually. And we have to get everything straight with Tsunade and Sakura. And inform everyone of your return.. And I'll have to get rid of all the alcohol in this house. And clean up that mess over there." He gestured to the shattered glass and vodka remaining on the hardwood floor. Sasuke nodded and looked back to Naruto.

"You're right. There's a lot for us to talk about, and a lot we need to do. But dobe, we have the rest of our lives to take care of stuff like that. Right now, I just want to hold you and kiss you and tell you I love you and be _together _for a little while. Because this is the happiest I've ever been, and I can finally say that you're mine. Which is pretty much the best gift life's ever given me."

Naruto smiled and let a single tear fall. Sasuke smiled back and kissed the tear, stopping it's trek down Naruto's soft face.

"You're right, teme. In good time, we'll fix everything. But right now.. yeah. I love you, Sasuke."

Sasuke squeezed Naruto a little tighter and leaned against the couch behind him.

"I love you too, Naruto. God, I love you too."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside, across the street on top of the building parallel to Naruto's apartment, Tsunade, Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura, Ino, Lee, Hinata, Kiba, and Gaara all stood.

"Awwwww!" They all chorused.

"If that's not the cutest thing I've ever seen!" Sakura squeed.

"It totally totally is! And it's so good to see Naruto finally happy again!" Ino shouted back.

"I told him things would get better." Gaara stated, to which everyone nodded, huge grins still on their faces.

"Aah, the beauty of youth." Lee muttered, wiping tears from his eyes.

"I knew the kids had it in 'em. They always do the right thing in the end." Kakashi sighed, Iruka nodding by his side with his own tearrs.

"That's my boy." Tsunade smiled.

They were right. There would be a lot of things for them to take care of later on, and a lot to talk about and a lot to settle. But with love on their side? Well, the problems would just have to wait. Right now, there was some cuddling to do.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Yeah, that's it. Short, and pretty gay, I know, but idk.. I kinda liked it. Hope you do too. **

**I love each and every one of you! Reviewwww! **

**3 Maci :) **


End file.
